The Vow
by Diamond Took
Summary: Sorry for the wait, but it still isn't a new chapter. Short update. When Merry and Pippin return from the War of the Ring, they are promised any maiden in Tookland and Buckland. But what happens when the girl Pippin chooses has taken a vow of chastity?
1. Introduction

It wasn't fair. Not one bit of it. Just because they were war-heroes, they come back and the Thain and the Master of Buckland let their sons pick any bride they choose, provided they live in the regions of Tuckborough and Buckland. The Mayor, sensible hobbit that he is, would have none of this nonsense, so he denied the two strapping (hah!) lads a chance at the lovely lasses in Hobbiton and the surrounding smials and villages.  
  
I really did consider up and moving to Hobbiton.  
  
I was the youngest of three other sisters. Emerald, the oldest, was already married and a mother of three little girls, Angelica, Basil, and Clover. The next youngest, Ruby, was not married, but she had a temper like none other, so none other would have her. Ruby was my model, my idol, and I fashioned my very life after her. I could not change my temperament, so I remained "sweet, compassionate, innocent Diamond." My next-to sister, who had just come of age, Peridot, was a romantic girl who was passionate about everything. She flirted and giggled like a ninny as far as Ruby and I were concerned, and if it were up to us, we would have disowned her.  
  
Ruby and I were as close as "two pippins in a barrel" as the saying went. This saying, of course, was fashioned ages before Pippin Took and his scheming cousin Merry were born (they were the war-heroes I mentioned earlier) and they had devastated the region so much that the Thain had very much so considered changing the idiom to "two apples in a barrel" which would have suited me fine. I cared not a whit how they worded the saying, so long as it meant Ruby and I were inseparable, which we were. We would spend hours either at my small house or hers (families in Tuckborough generally got larger houses than single hobbits) planning out our free lives together, happily independent members of a hobbit-community which valued our existence as cart-keepers at the market, not as brides who bore hobbit children for husbands. Life was wonderful, and I had no intention of getting married at any time.  
  
If Mother and Father had been alive, then that would be a different story. But they died before Ruby came of age, so we were both free to do as we pleased. Emma was married off, to a disgusting hobbit thirty years older than her, and she was soon pregnant. Emma didn't look pleased about the marriage, and so it left Ruby and I to wonder if she was forced into pregnancy as well as marriage. That was the reason I wanted freedom most of all. Because of Emma, and her horrible marriage.  
  
But everything changed the day that the edict came into the town of Long-Cleeve, that all maidens were to attend a special celebration in honour of Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck, who were celebrating their coming of age (at least, Pippin was) the coming week. All eligible maidens were to attend, in their best attire, in order to make themselves approachable to the young heirs. This all made me wonder if maybe Messrs Peregrin and Meriadoc weren't exactly the most pleasing husbands, and that thought discouraged me all the more. 


	2. Dressmaking

I thought I wasn't pretty, that I wouldn't win their hearts anyway, so what was the problem? Ruby proved me wrong.  
  
"Look in the mirror Di, look. Your red hair is so curly, look!-" she pulled on one of my locks and it bounced back into place-"and your eyes, such a deep blue, they are almost purple. Your face is fair and pale, except for a few freckles across your nose. Your hands have not seen work, and you are thin, not fat like some other lasses-"  
  
"Basil Smallburrow," I murmured, thinking of a portly lass I used to know. I saw Ruby nod into the mirror. She pulled a small wreath of roses from her apron pocket, and placed it on my head. I leaned against her shoulder and sighed.  
  
"I don't want to go. I don't want them to pick me," I sobbed quietly. She stroked my hair, and she smiled.  
  
"Di, you would have nothing to fear with either of them. They are not like that Radamund Proudfoot that Emma got stuck with. I know them personally, and if they chose you, they would be wise indeed, except for your temper." She smiled, and I had to smile, too.  
  
"Di, you are supposed to go get a new dress for this ball, so we had better take you to Mrs Teagrass's shop to be fitted," She got up from her perch on a stool and took my hand as she took me out the front door of our hole. That was one thing about Ruby I never understood. She would take you somewhere, but rarely explain where, and never give you a chance to decide whether you really even wanted to go there in the first place. I think the word for that was spontaneity but a more proper word was Ruby, because the word fit her like a glove.  
  
Mrs Teagrass's shop was full of lasses all shouting and waving order slips at either the shopkeeper herself or one of her many apprentices taken on for such an occasion. Mrs Teagrass was a good friend of Mother's, and therefor, we were on visiting terms with her. She had promised Mother a dress for the wedding of one of us, but since Emma's dress was simply Mother's old one, the gift remained unused until that day.  
  
I sat down in one of the free chairs by the window, watching the hobbits stroll by. I was immersed in my own world of dragons and warriors when Mrs Teagrass saw me. She smiled at Ruby, and then finger-whistled (what I called putting your fingers in your mouth and then whistling).  
  
"STORE IS CLOSED FOR TODAY! EVERYBODY- OUT!" She then proceeded to shoo the lingering patrons out the door with a broom, and then turned to us. We hadn't budged because we had realized that she was making time for us in a very efficient way.  
  
"How may I serve you young lasses today?" She said, making a grand curtsy. I grinned and clapped, and Ruby laughed.  
  
"Diamond needs a dress. Finest one you can make her, with a wreath of flowers to match for her hair. She needs to look her best for the ball next week." Mrs Teagrass smiled and nodded.  
  
"Aye, another one caught up in this whole mess? It seems like those young Messrs are going ta have their hands full picking a bride. Did ye know that the dwarves, I hear tell, have as many wives as they please! This be because of the lack of maidens in those dwarfish cities deep underground. Not that I can blame the lasses, I wouldn't want to be caught in all of that dank dirt, but considering that they are so lacking in lasses, one dwarf could have all of the ladies in the city!" Ruby cleared her throat at this pause in the chitchat and spoke up quickly.  
  
"Ma'am, do you think white would look fine on Diamond? Or perhaps, blue, for her eyes?" Ruby was rightly interrupting Mrs Teagrass, who very well could sit and chat about the most mindless things for hours. It was enough to bore someone to tears, and I was glad of Ruby's boldness. But Mrs Teagrass picked her head right up from the measuring ribbon that she was using on my bosom at the moment, and shook her head furiously, mouth full of pins.  
  
"Ner, ner adall. Ping's de ondy ride co'or fer a redead," she said, spewing spittle and a few pins. I tried not to squirm, but I couldn't help but quiver irritably at the word pink, or more rightly, ping. Why did I have to be a redhead? Pink was my least favorite color in the Shire. Mother couldn't force a pink frock over my head if she tied me down to a chair with my arms and legs restrained (that of which she did try and do, but I knocked the chair over). Ruby looked at me, and her eyes expanded, seeing the expression on my face. I shook my head resolutely, my mind having been made up.  
  
"Mrs Teagrass, I implore you, make it blue or white. Even green or purple would do. Just not pink. Diamond hates pink." Ruby had crossed the room, and I could tell that it was all she could do to keep from dropping to her knees and begging. I nearly laughed out loud, but remembered the solemnity of the situation and bit my tongue.  
  
"Rubigalia Crystalline, I must set my foot down. Pink is the only color I have enough of to make a lavish enough dress for Diamond, and lavish it shall be. So now, shoo, and I will go make it for you. Shoo! Before someone thinks that you two are special customers!" She winked, and pushed us out of the door.  
  
"Trust Camomile Teagrass to make her own choices about someone else's purse," Ruby snorted. Ruby did not take kindly to being called Rubigalia, which was a delicate spring flower that died in the frost. It was grown in the Southfarthing, where the weather was the fairest, but just in the end of the last age, when Sharkey and his men came into the Shire, that a few brave hobbits brought the Rubigalia to the Northfarthing. Ruby did not like being referred to as "a delicate flower".  
  
"Maybe, maybe the dress will still look nice," I tried to be optimistic, but Ruby would have none of it as we walked home that evening. 


	3. Estella Bolger

"By the Shire, Diamond I never thought I would see the day when my little sister would get married!" Emma hugged me tightly to her bosom, and I frowned.  
  
"I am not getting married. It is not a wedding dress, Emma. It is an 'occasion dress'. To be worn on special occasions, not to weddings."  
  
"But weddings are special occasions, Sister." Emma was beaming, and I hated that she was reveling in my misery.  
  
"Please Emma, it is not a wedding," I begged. I silently pleaded with her to stop simpering after me, lest I express my anger. She did not heed my call.  
  
"Surely, Baby Sister, you cannot fool me." She laughed, and called Clover to her side, who was being harassed by her older sisters, Angelica and Basil. I pitied Clover, because I knew what it felt like to be harassed by an older sister. As I thought this, I sent Emma a look of pure wrath.  
  
"Are you blind, O Unseeing Sister? Can you not see the edicts demanding the attendance of every maiden to the birthday festival honoring Meriadoc and Peregrin? Did you not see the crowds of lasses at Mrs Teagrass's shop, and other shops around the Northfarthing? Did you not see hordes of lasses stringed out into a line, practicing plaits on each others' hair? Are you so unknowing, O Ignorant Sister, that you really do think that we are all to be married?" I stormed out of the house, leaving poor Clover crying on her mother's lap and Ruby pacing back and forth across the wool rug. The only thing I regretted was causing Ruby and Clover pain. They were dearest to me of all the Hobbits in the Shire, besides that of Estella Bolger, whom I was set out to see that instant.  
  
The Bolger hole was not so far from ours, just down two lanes, and then off to the left, but I had forgotten my shawl, and so was particularly cold. I wished that I lived in Buckland, where the Old Forest provided shelter from the West Winds that beleaguered other regions of Middle Earth, as I was told. The Northfarthing was too far north for us to be sheltered by any sort of land form of that sort, and ours were the worst winters of the Shire. Luckily, it was the spring, but it was only early spring, and that was still bad enough for us.  
  
A warm glow echoed out from the windows of the Bolger hole. I hastened my step, hurrying as fast as I could to the warmth and comfort of my dear friend Estel.  
  
I ran to their door, and rapped my knuckles on it impatiently. Estella's older brother, Fredegar, answered the door.  
  
"Aye, Diamond! Hello, how are ye? Poor Stella's got it bad. She doesn't want to go anymore than, well you, I figure. You don't know how glad I am to see you here, to talk some sense into her." I nodded, even though I knew good and well that I wasn't planning on talking "sense" to Estel, but I was still cold, and Fatty, as he was called, could talk for hours over the simplest things. "All right then, she is in her bedroom. Please help her, Di. She's in an awful state." I felt a pang of guilt, but walked past him into the house, allowing my windswept body to thaw out as I slowly stepped by their hearth. Once I was warm, I wandered my way through their endless hallways and corridors and found myself beside a weeping Estel.  
  
"Estel, what is wrong?" I asked. I had underestimated Estel's situation, and I felt even worse.  
  
"O, Diamond. I don't know what to do. I'm in a real fix, if you could understand. On the one hand, I ever so badly want to be seen and admired by two real warriors from the Shire," She whispered, almost in awe at the very mention of their title.  
  
"But on the second hand, I want to marry Oliver, and I want to marry him very badly. He said that he understands that I am required to go to the party, but he wants me to stay away from Meriadoc and Peregrin, so they won't pick me. I don't know what to do." I put my hand on her shoulder to stay her quivers, and she looked up at me.  
  
Oliver Birchburrow was Estel's long-time beau, and they were very romantic. I would see them walking around Tuckborough, hand in hand, singing a hobbit love song, or with Oliver's arm wrapped around her shoulder. It was all very sweet, and they were the one couple that made me consider giving up my vow of chastity and wedding.  
  
"Estel, do you know what your name means?" It was all I could think of to tell her. She wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands and nodded, tears flowing down her red cheeks. "Estella means star. I don't follow your thinking, Diamond," she confessed, her voice downhearted and sad.  
  
"No. I mean the name that I call you. Estel. It is Elvish for hope. Live up to your name, Estel. Have hope, that everything will turn out alright. And I truly mean it when I say that it will. For you, at least. I cannot say the same thing for myself, but I am happy for you. Really, I am." Estel's already round eyes grew even wider, but not in shock. Her face bore an expression of true remorse and compassion.  
  
"O, Diamond, I am so sorry. What's wrong?" I looked down to the ground. "Estel, I took a vow of chastity, with Ruby. I promised to never be married, and to never be a mother. I have never courted, and never shall. Seeing you and Oliver has made me sorely regret vowing a single life since the day I turned 15, but there is nothing I can do. What would I tell Peregrin or Meriadoc, if they were to pick me? Meriadoc, especially, because I have heard many rumors of his fathering many children to lasses our age." I wept, even though I had promised myself not to. Estel laughed, which was not the reaction I was expecting.  
  
"Oh ho, Di! We are being silly, and ever so conceited! Who is to say that we are going to be picked at all? Out of all the Shire-"  
  
"Only Tookland and Buckland," I corrected. "It is almost all of the Shire. Anywise, what is to say that they will pick us? Now, Diamond, won't you spend the night, so that we can spend the hours talking about my future with Oliver, and yours as an independent hobbitess, you and Ruby being the first of your kind, I must say."  
  
The next morning, I set out from their hole, thanking the Bolger's profusely for their hospitality, and wishing their garden the best of reaps in the Shire, as was the custom.  
  
When I reached Number 5 Tuckland Lane, Ruby ran out to greet me.  
  
"Oh, Diamond. Hurry, hurry! Mrs Teagrass surely has your dress done by now, and Emm is in a fit. She was not happy with your running off last night. Says you've gone and gotten yourself pregnant, just to make yourself unapproachable to the good and decent sirs who desire your acquaintance. I knew you would never break your vow, but now, more than ever, do we need to leave the house.  
  
"You can't imagine how I regret leaving Basil and Clover with their stupid mother. Angelica is gone, too. Her father took her on a day-trip this morning, and they won't be back until nightfall. But those poor, poor girls. Em will not rest until you are properly married, and I would see to it that you are not. But what am I to do? I am just your sister, not the Thain himself, who would see you married properly as well. So what do we do? We go get your dress, and hope for the best. What are you standing there for? Em will find us and have our heads!" She grabbed my arm, and together, we hiked our skirts up and ran down the path that I had just came from. I smiled to myself, thinking about how Ruby reminded me of Estel, in happier moods.  
  
Mrs Teagrass had indeed, finished my dress. I waited until I was home to wear it for the first time, for modesty's sake.  
  
Were it not pink, it would have looked lovely. My dress flowed out in a small train that had a tendency to flow behind me when I walked. My bodice was laced up tightly over a white underdress that revealed where the gaps in the lacing were, and a white sash was wrapped around my waist. My neckline dropped quite a bit, although it wasn't revealing, which was more than fine for me. My sleeves stopped at where my elbows bent, so that was a bit uncomfortable, but the silk flared out, draping my lower arms. Every hem on my body was lined in white lace, and I must admit, with the wreath of white roses draping over my auburn ringlets, I looked like a princess.  
  
"Lovely. You are more lovely than I ever could have thought, Sister." Ruby's formality shocked me. She sounded so sad, and I could tell why, simply by looking in the mirror.  
  
I was beautiful. Ruby had told me that the day before, when she had wheedled me into having this dress made. I didn't see it then, but I saw it now. My thin, arched eyebrows accented my large, round, dark eyes. My nose, a perfect patrician that arched up like a "a little mountain on the other side of the valley" as Mother had said. My mouth was small, and delicate, and my face was pale, except for my blooming, soft skin on my cheeks. I looked at plain Ruby, and I realized how right she was. "Oh, Ruby. Please," I begged, although I knew not for what. She hugged me, and whispered in my ear, "please, revoke the vow. Please, you could find your fate so much happier. Consider it, please?" I almost nodded. Almost! But I realized that revoking a vow such as that for no substantial reason was not good enough. I needed a reason. A good, valid reason, or else I would do no such thing; No matter how my heart ached, my head stubbornly refused. I shook my head. Ruby sighed audibly, and put her hand on my shoulder.  
  
"Diamond, don't do this to yourself. Do you see how happy Oliver and Estella are? Do you see how happy Em has become? Do you want to torment yourself like this?" Ruby's voice dripped of tears, and her eyes scared me. They were frightened, like a deer's, but almost as mad as Farmer Maggot's dog Fang when a trespasser has been caught on his master's property.  
  
Ruby's pleas tore at my heart. I wanted so badly to say yes, I would revoke everything I had tolerated for fifteen years of my life. It would have been so simple for Ruby, and even steadfast Estel, but not me. A simple "I do" had gotten me into this predicament, so why couldn't an "I don't" get me out? I wanted so badly to accept. My heart wanted to, it yearned to. I couldn't and it tore my insides up.  
  
"No, no, please, no," I begged- pleaded nearly. "Don't tell me to. I want to stay lonely and miserable forever," I dropped to my knees, sobbing violently. I shook my head in my hands. My hair fell down around my eyes, and my garland fell off of my head. but I didn't care.  
  
"Oh, Diamond. I am so sorry. I was selfish to bring you to the Well, and have you say that vow. I wanted you to stay alone, like I knew I would be. I wanted you to stay a little girl forever. Please forgive me. Forgive me by revoking the vow!"  
  
Why couldn't I do this? It was as if a hidden spirit within me refused to allow my body and mind to do what it so badly wanted to. There was nothing I could find within me that was restraining me, but I couldn't bring myself to revoke anything.  
  
"Ruby," I struggled, "I will revoke the vow only if- NO!" A cry escaped my lips, and my eyes grew wider. What had I done? What was possessing me to do this?  
  
"Why can't I say yes, Ruby?" I cried, despondently.  
  
"I don't know," she shook her head.  
  
"Ruby, try to revoke your vow." I asked, on a whim. My mind had been working furiously, and I had thought of an idea.  
  
"I will revoke- revo- re, I can't do this, Diamond." In spite of myself, I smiled grimly.  
  
"We cannot. We are bound to this vow, 


	4. Struggling

The next morning, I set out from their hole, thanking the Bolger's profusely for their hospitality, and wishing their garden the best of reaps in the Shire, as was the custom.  
  
When I reached Number 5 Tuckland Lane, Ruby ran out to greet me.  
  
"Oh, Diamond. Hurry, hurry! Mrs Teagrass surely has your dress done by now, and Emm is in a fit. She was not happy with your running off last night. Says you've gone and gotten yourself pregnant, just to make yourself unapproachable to the good and decent sirs who desire your acquaintance. I knew you would never break your vow, but now, more than ever, do we need to leave the house.  
  
"You can't imagine how I regret leaving Basil and Clover with their stupid mother. Angelica is gone, too. Her father took her on a day-trip this morning, and they won't be back until nightfall. But those poor, poor girls. Em will not rest until you are properly married, and I would see to it that you are not. But what am I to do? I am just your sister, not the Thain himself, who would see you married properly as well. So what do we do? We go get your dress, and hope for the best. What are you standing there for? Em will find us and have our heads!" She grabbed my arm, and together, we hiked our skirts up and ran down the path that I had just came from. I smiled to myself, thinking about how Ruby reminded me of Estel, in happier moods.  
  
Mrs Teagrass had indeed, finished my dress. I waited until I was home to wear it for the first time, for modesty's sake.  
  
Were it not pink, it would have looked lovely. My dress flowed out in a small train that had a tendency to flow behind me when I walked. My bodice was laced up tightly over a white underdress that revealed where the gaps in the lacing were, and a white sash was wrapped around my waist. My neckline dropped quite a bit, although it wasn't revealing, which was more than fine for me. My sleeves stopped at where my elbows bent, so that was a bit uncomfortable, but the silk flared out, draping my lower arms. Every hem on my body was lined in white lace, and I must admit, with the wreath of white roses draping over my auburn ringlets, I looked like a princess.  
  
"Lovely. You are more lovely than I ever could have thought, Sister." Ruby's formality shocked me. She sounded so sad, and I could tell why, simply by looking in the mirror.  
  
I was beautiful. Ruby had told me that the day before, when she had wheedled me into having this dress made. I didn't see it then, but I saw it now. My thin, arched eyebrows accented my large, round, dark eyes. My nose, a perfect patrician that arched up like a "a little mountain on the other side of the valley" as Mother had said. My mouth was small, and delicate, and my face was pale, except for my blooming, soft skin on my cheeks. I looked at plain Ruby, and I realized how right she was. "Oh, Ruby. Please," I begged, although I knew not for what. She hugged me, and whispered in my ear, "please, revoke the vow. Please, you could find your fate so much happier. Consider it, please?" I almost nodded. Almost! But I realized that revoking a vow such as that for no substantial reason was not good enough. I needed a reason. A good, valid reason, or else I would do no such thing; No matter how my heart ached, my head stubbornly refused.  
  
I shook my head. Ruby sighed audibly, and put her hand on my shoulder.  
  
"Diamond, don't do this to yourself. Do you see how happy Oliver and Estella are? Do you see how happy Em has become? Do you want to torment yourself like this?" Ruby's voice dripped of tears, and her eyes scared me. They were frightened, like a deer's, but almost as mad as Farmer Maggot's dog Fang when a trespasser has been caught on his master's property.  
  
Ruby's pleas tore at my heart. I wanted so badly to say yes, I would revoke everything I had tolerated for fifteen years of my life. It would have been so simple for Ruby, and even steadfast Estel, but not me. A simple "I do" had gotten me into this predicament, so why couldn't an "I don't" get me out? I wanted so badly to accept. My heart wanted to, it yearned to. I couldn't and it tore my insides up.  
  
"No, no, please, no," I begged- pleaded nearly. "Don't tell me to. I want to stay lonely and miserable forever," I dropped to my knees, sobbing violently. I shook my head in my hands. My hair fell down around my eyes, and my garland fell off of my head. but I didn't care.  
  
"Oh, Diamond. I am so sorry. I was selfish to bring you to the Well, and have you say that vow. I wanted you to stay alone, like I knew I would be. I wanted you to stay a little girl forever. Please forgive me. Forgive me by revoking the vow!"  
  
Why couldn't I do this? It was as if a hidden spirit within me refused to allow my body and mind to do what it so badly wanted to. There was nothing I could find within me that was restraining me, but I couldn't bring myself to revoke anything.  
  
"Ruby," I struggled, "I will revoke the vow only if- NO!" A cry escaped my lips, and my eyes grew wider. What had I done? What was possessing me to do this?  
  
"Why can't I say yes, Ruby?" I cried, despondently.  
  
"I don't know," she shook her head.  
  
"Ruby, try to revoke your vow." I asked, on a whim. My mind had been working furiously, and I had thought of an idea.  
  
"I will revoke- revo- re, I can't do this, Diamond." In spite of myself, I smiled grimly.  
  
"We cannot. We are bound to this vow," I sobbed, and Ruby hugged me to her bosom. A surge of feelings merged within me. I was angry at Ruby for tricking me into ruining my life at the Well, but I loved my sister.  
  
I hugged her back. 


	5. Meetings

*Author's Note- um, Hi everybody! I am really sorry about the mixup with Chapters 3 and 4. I can't fix Chapter 3, but it ends as Diamond spends the night at Estel's hole. Thanks to everyone who is R&R! May your gardens be blessed with the best reaps for 13 years, in Shire fashion!  
  
The day of the Festival came all too soon. Ruby and I spent the night before rushing around the house, crumpling my hair into tighter curls, pressing my dress so that it was free of wrinkles, and practicing weaving my hair into curls and coils around my head. The end result, when crowned with a wreathe of roses, was absolutely lovely, and as I set out for the Party Field the next morning, with my cloak wrapped around me for warmth, I waved goodbye to Ruby happily.  
  
The Party Field was overrun with girls, laughing, giggling, pointing. I thought I was going to be sick. There were even some lads roaming around, seeing which girls they might want to try for after the Festival was over. I felt like a fraud, all fancied up. I pulled my cloak around my dress even tighter, and the cheery mood that I had come there with was gone.  
  
I found Estel quickly, or rather, she found me. She was so excited about the party, mainly the food.  
  
"The best bakers from the Shire have been hired for the birthday cake, and the same for the wedding cake. Fresh greens, and taters! O-la, and the sweetest cheeses and milk from the Eastfarthing, goat and cow both. Broths and stews, and the ales!" At that, Estel's stomach complained, and she excused herself to the spread that had made itself so approachable to a horde of hobbits already indulging themselves.  
  
I decided to go down the hill, to where most of the activity was. I started out walking, but the steep slope caused me to break into a run.  
  
That is, until I ran straight into an unwitting hobbit. The impact sent me to my feet, but the hobbit stayed on his, and helped me up, to my embarrassment.  
  
"Meriadoc Brandybuck, miss. Pleased to meet you, and make your acquaintance," he bowed genteelly, and I had to laugh, thinking of Mrs Teagrass. He cocked an eyebrow, and I repressed my laugh.  
  
"Diamond of Long Cleeve, sir. Are you this Meriadoc the Magnificent that everyone seems to be talking about?" He grinned mischievously, and nodded.  
  
"Of course, Diamond. Meriadoc the Magnificent is what everyone's been calling me since Saruman's been gone, that's for sure. Magnificent, however, is more than I can say for my cousin, Pippin." He laughed. His face was splashed with sandy freckles, which were the same color as his unruly curls. His green eyes shone, and he looked more like a hobbit child than a war-hero. "More than you can say about me, what Merry?" Another hobbit came out of a nearby tent, eating an apple. His hair was somewhat darker than Merry's, but his eyes were just the same, and he had, if possible, even more freckles.  
  
"This is Diamond of Long Cleeve, Pippin. She was just saying as to how handsome I am, which is when I then commented on yourself." I gasped, in mock insult. I had already come to feel as if these two were life-long friends, or brothers.  
  
"I assure you, Pippin, I did nothing of the sort. Merry is nice, but certainly not handsome," I smiled, blinking my eyelashes femininely. Fortunately, Merry and Pippin both saw that I was not flirting, and they laughed.  
  
"Well, thank you kindly, Diamond. Now that my self-esteem has been boosted tremendously, and my ego has swelled-"  
  
"Merry, your ego is always swelled. Quite honestly, if the Dark Lord himself had come and thrashed you into the dirt, I say that you would think yourself the most honorable hobbit in all of Middle-Earth," I giggled, and Merry shot me a swarthy look, so I coughed right away.  
  
"Diamond, are you the only one of your family here? An only lass in a family of brothers, or an only child? Are your sisters all married off, or are they too young to walk?" Pippin started counting off the options on his fingers, and I smiled.  
  
"No, I have only sisters. One is married, one is most likely here, but she is such a ninny that you might want to hide if she came near, and another, like myself, is not married, but- never mind." I had started to tell them about the vow, but I decided against it.  
  
"Diamond! Diamond, oh there you are! Did you see the food?" Estel came running towards me, her apron pockets stuffed with sweets and small cakes. I smiled, and waved.  
  
"Oh my. Hello," Estel saw Merry and Pippin, and grew very quiet.  
  
"Don't worry about her. That is Estel, my very best friend, but she becomes shy around the lad-folk. She is perfectly fine otherwise," I smiled, and Estel blushed to the tips of her ears, and everyone laughed again. It seemed as if Merry and Pippin were intoxicated with laughter, because it seemed to be in the very breath they expired.  
  
"Well, well. Hello, Peregrin, Meriadoc. You seem to have found quite a treasure, here," Radamund Proudfoot, Emma's husband, said. He put his hand to my cheek, and I shuddered away. Pippin stepped forward, hand to his belt instinctively. I suppose he never quite got over having a sword, and still felt like he had one at his call.  
  
"No need to worry, Peregrin. I have a wife, which is more than the both of you can say," he laughed. I felt anger surge through me.  
  
"You only have my sister because you bought her! You didn't marry because she wanted you, but because you were so cold-hearted that you didn't care if you caused her misery!" I snapped. Radamund jumped back, Pippin stared at me admiringly, and Merry applauded. "You will regret that, miss." Radamund skulked off, and Estel put her hand on my shoulder.  
  
"Don't worry, Di. He can't do anything to you. He is just full of hot air, as they say." She smiled, and I smiled back.  
  
"Still, I didn't like the way he touched you, Diamond," Pippin frowned, and he moved towards me. I wondered why Pippin was being so protective. 


	6. Runaway

The official celebration began at Sundown at the Pavilion. The Thain and Master stood on the top step, with their sons in front of them. I had long since let my hair down, because it was annoying, and much too cold to have it off of my neck, so my curls hung loosely around my shoulders. I was standing with Estel, who was as nervous as I was about this whole ordeal.  
  
"Our sons, have so graciously made their decisions about their future brides. The future of our families will be secured, and we wish to both happy couples a large family and much prosperity. Meriadoc, has chosen Estella Bolger. Peregrin, has chosen Diamond of Long Cleeve. Would these maidens please come to meet their husbands-to-be?"  
  
I felt weak. I could not believe that he had picked me. It wasn't fair, he shouldn't have. I was going to tell him as soon as I got up there. Estel grabbed my arm, and we headed towards the Pavilion. Maidens all around us were grumbling about their rotten luck, a few were clapping politely.  
  
Once we reached the Pavilion, we were expected to take the hand of our betrothed. We did so, but I struggled immensely. I knew what was coming next, and that I could not restrain myself.  
  
"Will you be my bride?" Pippin and Merry asked at the same time. Estel nodded eagerly, but I couldn't bring myself to. I broke away from everyone and ran into the forest nearby, running as fast as I could away from the party.  
  
When I stopped, I was in a clearing, in the middle of the woods. I sat down on a nearby rock, and caught my breath. Why had I run like that? What if Pippin chose someone else? That was something I couldn't bear. I had to go back and find him.  
  
Crunch. I heard twigs on the ground snapping underfoot. I spun around, and saw a lad I knew as Otho Grubb approaching me.  
  
"Well, what have we here?" He said, obviously drunken. He grinned, and grabbed my arm. His breath smelled of ale, and I struggled against him, but he was too strong.  
  
"What are you going to do with me?" I asked, my voice rising in a panic. I knew very well what he was intending to do, but I was hoping that he wouldn't go through with it.  
  
"You are such a pretty lass. You can come with me now, and don't scream for help, alright?" He pulled a knife from its sheath at his belt, and held it up ominously. I swallowed hard, and counted my odds. I felt that I would be fast enough to wrench away from him, and run, if I could only get away. My stupid skirts inhibited my running, so I ran my hand down to the hemline. Otho misapprehended my actions, and kissed me openly. I tried to push him away, but he just laughed. I felt awful, and dizzy. But I knew I had to keep my wits about me.  
  
He started to unlace my bodice, and in doing so, he either diverted some of his attention to me, loosened his grip on my wrist just a little, or both. I seized the opportunity, and wrenched my wrist away from his hand, kicked him square in the belly, and screamed for all my worth. The kick send Otho to his knees, but not for long. As he was struggling to get up, I snatched his knife and held it to his neck.  
  
"I should cut your throat, but I won't, if you stay here, and don't follow me. I am leaving, you filthy swine, and you don't deserve this mercy that I am giving you." I spat, dropping the knife into his lap. I gathered my skirts and ran off, sprinting as fast as I could, not trusting my judgement of letting him live.  
  
I was no farther than fifty paces from the clearing, when Otho started chasing me. I sped up, screaming as loud as I could, hoping, praying that someone would hear. But Otho was too fast, and he soon caught me. He knocked me to the ground, and as I opened my mouth to scream, he kissed me hard.  
  
"That'll teach the miss not to yell for help. Now, where were we?" I gulped, and tried to run, but he pinned my body underneath his.  
  
This is the end, I thought. I will lose my innocence to this evil creature, I felt weak, and my body hurt, although he had not done anything to me. It was the same feeling I got when I tried to renounce the vow, and I realized that the vow did not want me to be put through this. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do.  
  
I turned my head and screamed for help as he was busy untying his breeches. I prayed for rescue, and it came, but too late.  
  
Everything went black. 


	7. Author's Notes and Apologies

Disclaimer- *bursts into song* I don't own this, I don't own that, Oh I don't own Lord of the Rings, or oh yeah, some of these characters. I only half own, (Oh!)* sings to the tune of The 50 States in Rhyme* Angelica and Radamund, Clover, Emerald, Basil, Ruby, Otho, and that is almost all-  
  
Shouts from audience- Hey, you can't sing! And that doesn't even rhyme!  
  
Oh yes, wait just a second! I have been getting lots of reviews about Estella Bolger having a nickname that strangely is IDENTICAL to Aragorn's. This, my friends, was sort of a coincidence. "Sort of" being that I knew Aragorn's elvish name was Estel, but I was not naming her that because of Aragorn. I had seen nicknames for Estella that ranged from Stella to Stelly to who-knows-what. I thought that Estel was an original nickname for a hobbit, and I think it worked nicely.  
  
And I didn't mean to offend anyone about saying that the incidents in Ch. 6 were "mild rape". What I meant by that is that I have seen much more graphic descriptions of this in other fanfics, and that what I wrote was "milder" in description. Sorry if I offended you!  
  
One last thing. I was originally going to have the rape to have actually taken place, but I decided instead to have her saved (I'm not quite sure by what, though) Please, no flames! I was originally going to use the rape as the way she can get past her vow of chastity, after it was broken against her will, but I think I am going for a different, more innocent approach. A sort of Pippin/Diamond first kiss thing (not exactly a loss of chastity, I suppose, but good enough for the story, if you will). So, I was wondering. Should I have the moment when the vow is broken to be a magical sort of scene, where something visible happens to signal that she is free, or should it be more of an understanding on Diamond's part that she has broken the vow. Please help me, maybe in the form of a review??? Thank you!  
  
And to katkanadian, I was honestly going to change the rape part, and the dropping of the knife, but I lost the entire chapter on my computer. I may have accidentally deleted it, and with my memory, I could have even uploaded the revised version already, but I doubt it. So rest assured that I did heed your review, and was going to do something about it, but I can't find the chapter on my computer. But I do realize that the knife-dropping would have been an incredibly stupid thing for her to do. In case you were wondering, I was going to have her keep the knife, Otho still would have caught her, she would have tried to use it against him though, only he would have knocked it out of her reach. Was that better?  
  
Thank you to all for reviewing! 


	8. Meeting the Family

The next morning, I awoke in a hole and in a bedroom that I did not recognize, having slept in a bed that was unfamiliar. I sat up, but dizziness overwhelmed me, and I had to put my hand to my aching head.  
  
Where in the Shire can I be? I thought. I was not at Emma's hole, nor at Peridot's, Ruby's, or Estel's. A terrible feeling of displacement came over me, and I closed my eyes, still sitting straight up in bed.  
  
"Oh Pim! She's awake! Get Pippin, and Pearl, they'll want to see her. And Mum and Da while you are gone, if you can find them. Goodness knows where they would be, either at the apothecary's, or the relative's, or sound in their own beds!" I heard footsteps as this "Pim" went to go fetch the mentioned hobbits, and the one that spoke went to my bedside.  
  
I opened my eyes, and saw a hobbit, not much older than Peridot, standing beside me. Her hair was the same auburn as Pippin's, but her eyes were blue, and her skin was more pale than the sanguine Pippin. She looked genuinely relieved that I had awoke.  
  
"Hello," I said tentatively. I watched her every movement, every flicker of her eyes, every twitch at the corner of her mouth. Ruby had taught me how to read other hobbits' thoughts and emotions by their facial expressions alone. It was a talent I utilized often, to tell friend from foe.  
  
"Well, it's a good thing you are awake, Diamond. Pippin's been worried sick, Mum and Da have been awake all night, Pearl has found solace only in the reading of poems and sagas, as for myself and Pim, we've slept a good deal, but please, mind that little. You don't know how Pim and I flew, well I don't suppose we literally flew, but our feet scarce touched the ground, so fast did we run through the Great Forest, looking for you. That was where you were found, you know. The Great Forest, on the outskirts of Tuckborough. Lor bless the moonlight last night, because we saw your body laying there, all cold and still in that light. Goodness knows, we thought you were dead, but not Pippin. Pippin knew sure as nothing that you were still alive, so he brought you home. That's where you are, weren't you wondering? Great Smials of Tuckborough. You're in the home and hospitality of Thain, you are. Yes ma'am, the Thain himself, although we just call him Da." She smiled, and pressed my hand to her cheek. Either her cheek was incredibly chilled, or my hand was, but something told me that this girl was not cold at all, because her face was beginning to glow, whether from the temperature of the room, or the pace of her speech, I know not.  
  
"Thank you, miss. You have just told me more than I ever had hoped to have time to inquire about, but pray-tell, what is your name?" The girl laughed, and she shook her head.  
  
"Lor have mercy on me! Naught's worse than my memory, and Mum says my manners are just as bad. My names Pervinca, but most just call me Vinca, like most call Pimpernel, Pim. I'm Pippin's next-to sister, if you follow. It would be Pearl, Pim, me and then Pippin, as age goes. Pippin's quite the handful, and whatever made him fall in love with you, I can't quite reckon." I must have unwittingly gestured that I was offended, because her eyes swelled in an almost horror, and she shook her hands back and forth. "Please, Diamond! Don't take offense! I didn't mean any harm, and certainly didn't mean to be rude. I was just meaning that Pippin doesn't usually take interest in girls like you. Of course, Pippin is just now coming of the age where he would take an interest in girls, but he has hinted that he was more interested in a feminine, and if I may say so, "sissified" sort of lass. You have proven yourself to be more than a bit capable of defending yourself, and your honor."  
  
"My honor? My honor, oh Vinca, what happened to me?" I grabbed her hand, and blood rushed to my head. I could only fear the worst, after remembering the last moments of my conscious state that night.  
  
"Your honor was defended, I should hope. There were no, er, signs, to suggest otherwise. Pippin found you utterly asleep scratched her head, and in the pause, as she was thinking, five hobbits came into the room., and nothing more. What happened to Otho, though, beats me. He just disappeared!" Vinca scratched her head, and as she did so, five hobbits ran into the room. This startled me more than a bit, and my hand flew to my breast as I caught my breath from the shock.  
  
By process of elimination, and from what Vinca told me earlier, I could tell who was who before they introduced themselves. Obviously, the oldest two were the Thain and Mrs Took, the tallest daughter, and the one with a book still in her hand was obviously Pearl, the only girl left had to be Pim, and then there was Pippin.  
  
The Thain ran up to me, and shook my hand. That was a bit odd, considering as how the most influential hobbit in Tuckborough was treating me as if I were a hero or was famous.  
  
"Good morning, lass. Good morning to you! You cannot imagine how glad we are to see you up and about, especially Pippin, isn't that right, lad?" Pippin blushed and looked down to his feet. The Thain chuckled heartily, and I was amazed at the joviality in this hobbit. I would have thought that the pressure of such a role in the Shire would have made him a quiet, sad, wrinkled old hobbit, but no, not the Thain! I couldn't help but ask him about this, and the whole room burst into a fit of laughter, even me after a time, even though mine was more nervous than blithe, and I didn't know why I was laughing in the first place. The Thain put his hand on my shoulder, and his wrinkle-free face beamed down on me.  
  
"Oh my dear Diamond. I do nothing anymore. Thainship is merely a title now, and unless we were to have another battle or great war like we haven't seen since the days of Sharkey and his men, then there is nothing for me to do that would cause me trouble. The very worst I have seen lately was a squabble between two farmers who both thought they owned the same hen! That was all very simple, of course, seeing as how Eglantine here just cooked the hen, and they shared it as a stew. Besides," he winked at me, "it takes much more than what the Shire has to offer to give even the oldest of Tooks a wrinkle!" Eglantine, his wife, clasped me to her bosom, and cried. I didn't know a Took could cry so much, but when I asked Pippin about it later he smiled and told me that she was really a Banks by birth, and they were always a histrionic clan.  
  
"My dear girl, you are a part of this family now, and if there is anything you need, I would be happy to be as a mother to you. What a shame, to lose your parents at such a young age! I had a friend once, such a nice girl, Foxberry Banks, so well, actually she was my second-cousin once removed, I think, but she lost her parents in a tragic accident. Forgive me, but I can't remember what happened to them! All I remember is that it was tragic, and that Foxberry came to live with us-" The Thain put his hand on Eglantine's shoulder.  
  
"Dear, I doubt that Diamond wants to hear the story about the fire-" All children of the Thain turned to him almost at once and gave him a look that would have scared Sharkey himself straight out of the Shire. The Thain put his hand to his mouth, realizing his err, but too late.  
  
"That was it! A fire, one of the worst my whole family's ever seen! Oh, how the trees burned, the sky turned black-" Pippin motioned to me to leave the room with him. I nodded slightly, and slipped off of the edge of the bed, still in my pink gown. As I walked out, Pim nudged my foot slightly and winked. I shook my head, wondering if all Tooks were this quirky. 


	9. Complaints and Conclusions

Disclaimer- (I forgot to do this for the first chapters, so *sighs* I guess I am making up for it) *bored* Don't own this, just my storyline, own some characters, basically don't own Took family, Brandybuck family, Diamond and Estella. There. Please don't sue. It's not nice.  
  
A.N.- THIS CHAPTER HAS SPOILERS FOR RETURN OF THE KING. Did I get your attention? Good! I will put the spoilers inside little asterisks, and if you have read the last book, feel free to read them. If not, then well, all I can say is to please have common sense! Merry late Christmas to all, and to all, a good day!  
  
  
  
The Great Smials looked beautiful from the outside. Hills and valleys continuously interloped with each other, alternating back and forth so that it seemed like the ground itself couldn't make up it's mind whether to be raised or depressed. The paths that led around the hole were fair teeming with hobbits, going this way or that, and I couldn't help but wonder at this.  
  
"Pippin, are all of these hobbits normally here?" I asked, motioning to the traffic of carts and the occasional pony.  
  
"Not at all! This is family, all family. Not a single hobbit lives within half a day's walking distance of the Great Smials that isn't related to us by blood or marriage. But considering the size of our family name, we are certainly not sequestered. It seems like every day, there is a new visitor, a great-aunt, or a cousin of some sorts, or an uncle. But there hasn't been this much activity here, Pim told me, since I was born. It's the wedding, Diamond." He put his hand on mine gently and looked at me. I nodded, as if everything made sense now.  
  
"Diamond, I- I never felt worse than I did at that Festival. Da said that I had to find someone to marry, someone decent, or else he would find someone for me. He said Merry would have no trouble finding twenty lasses who would be lined up to just see him. Oh Diamond, do you know how badly that hurt?" Pippin stopped, and looked down. He obviously looked like he felt bad for pouring out his heart. I didn't want to put my hand on his and say "there, there, it's alright. Tell me everything." I felt like that was something that Peridot would say, and therefor, it was something I would NOT say. Truth be told, I didn't quite know what I wanted to say. So I just sat there. And Pippin opened up for me.  
  
************ "Diamond, Merry has always been perfect, or at least, perfecter than me. On the Quest, he killed a Nazgúl! No living man could do that, but Merry could. Merry and a woman named Eówyn. Merry never looked into any palantir, he didn't drop anything down the well. No one ever heard Gandalf call Merry 'Fool of a Brandybuck'. Merry didn't eat as much as I did, so everyone in the Fellowship called me gluttonous, while Merry was 'restrained'. Merry was quieter, more behaved, less rash, the list goes on and on!" Pippin paused, and wiped his eyes with the backs of his hands.  
  
************  
  
"Diamond, in Moria, I heard Gimli telling Legolas how the Fellowship would have been better off with two Merry's instead of a Merry and a Pippin. It wasn't my fault! I was growing still, and needed more food than all of the adult members of the Fellowship. Besides, it's well known, in the Shire at least, that The Great Smials have more food to go around, because there are less hobbits and more farmland, while Brandy Hall sits near water, not land, and the place is flooded with hobbits all the time. I am used to more food, and it wasn't fair that I was singled out for my shortcomings, while no one else was.  
  
" Tooks are generally more rambunctious and well, active, than other hobbits. If the Fellowship wanted to call that loud, then fine. And I didn't mean to knock the stone down the well, honestly. My hand slipped, it could have happened even to Gandalf, but he yelled at me. Fair shouted down my throat, if you asked me, which made more sound than one small stone. Gandalf never liked me. He preferred Frodo, that was obvious, or even Strider, who is king now. Not stupid Pippin and his foolish ways. Don't misunderstand me, I love Merry as a brother, and Gandalf was like a father, but oh!-" Pippin choked back a sob, and then he looked up at me.  
  
"I'm sorry Diamond. I'm acting as if I were nine and twenty again, not a grown hobbit who's supposed to have responsibilities. But do you mind?" I smiled, and shook my head.  
  
"Pippin, if I can't be your bride, then I would dearly love to be your friend," I said quietly. It was all I could think of to say, but as soon as I said it, I regretted it. He lowered his eyebrows, and looked into my eyes.  
  
"Diamond, aren't you going, wouldn't you please? Please Diamond. I feel like I have known you forever, not just a day, and you are so much more wonderful than those ninnies at the Festival." I swallowed, avoiding his gaze, and looking at the ground.  
  
"There is something you need to know about me, Pippin." He laughed wryly.  
  
"You aren't male, are you?" I smiled weakly, and shook my head.  
  
"No. Long, long years before I met you, my sister coaxed me into taking a vow of chastity at the Well in Long Cleeve. Rumor has it that the elves themselves built this well, before the Wise gave the Shire to the hobbits, and it is indeed of elf-like beauty, if I have ever seen anything that could be called such. It has held me to my vow so profoundly that my body will not allow me to utter anything that would seem like I was trying to rev- revo- the thing. I cannot say it, Pippin, forgive me. I want so badly with my heart to marry you, and be happy, but my vow is binding me to my fate, and I am helpless. You must understand, Pippin. I love you, as a brother, as a friend, as a companion and confidant-"  
  
"As a husband and a father?" Pippin looked as if he dared not even ask, for fear of the response. I was near tears now, and I nodded, closing my eyes.  
  
"Yes Pippin. Were I rid of this stupid vow, I would love you as a husband. But you do not understand. I cannot marry you, not like this." Pippin's eyes lit up. "Diamond, it is a vow of chastity. From what Pearl and Pim tell me of life, and such, then we could still wed. Da doesn't need an heir. Let Merry contribute one of his assuredly to be very large family to Da. We don't ever need to, well, break your vow." His earnest face broke my heart, although at the same time, my heart started to rise.  
  
"Yes, Pippin! Yes, I do think that would work, although so much could go wrong, and so much of it sounds wrong in its very saying, it might work! Oh Pippin, I was so afraid that you wouldn't want me!" I hugged Pippin happily, and I felt him brush his lips against my cheek. I pulled back, surprised.  
  
"Is that against your vow, too?" I couldn't tell if he was jesting, or serious, so I just smiled and shook my head.  
  
"Can you kiss me back?" He asked, his voice barely over a whisper, and hesitating. I had never thought of that before, so I tried. I leaned in to kiss him on the forehead, and somehow, I was allowed to do so. Pippin laughed, simply because of sheer delight, and hugged me again.  
  
"Pippin, I wonder. I wonder, really, if you wouldn't mind something, I would like to see just- well, I don't want to sound rude- but I wonder just what the limits of my vow are?" I kissed him on the cheek, and nothing happened. I tried to kiss him on the lips, and I was just barely able to brush them when I was pulled back.  
  
"Ah, so I see the two lovebirds are enjoying each other's company," Pim giggled as she let go of my dress. I blushed crimson, and Pippin looked down.  
  
"Don't fret, Little Brother. I won't tell Mother, or Father, but Diamond, Mother wants to see you. Something about new dresses for the wedding, I think." Pim shrugged, and I followed her in, feeling all the more disappointed, because for once, I had thought that maybe, just maybe, I had gotten over this accursed vow.  
  
Now, would I ever know? 


	10. Of Elves and Dresses

Disclaimer- In a hole, there lived a hobbit. That right there, I don't own that. One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. I don't own that either. Notice a pattern?  
  
I am going to be doing some measurement taking on Diamond in this chapter, and, seeing as how I am not a very avid sewer, and do not know much about what's what, and how to do all of this, I may make SEVERAL mistakes. I will do my best to be accurate, but if you find something wrong could you tell me please, so I could fix it? Thanks.  
  
I am also going to be making the hobbits sort of Scottish in this chapter, with tartan plaids. If this is a bad idea, please tell me. Thank you again! _________________________  
  
I followed Pim down corridors, through a right turn, more hallways, through a hearth-room another right turn, through a sitting room down a bit and a left turn, through what may have been a parlor, more hallways, and finally, we stopped at a door that opened up into a spacious receiving room. My head was still spinning from the immensity of this one hole, when Eglantine emerged from seemingly nowhere and invited me in.  
  
"You too, Pimpernel, if you want to help me. I have Clover and Lily to help with the dress fitting, but if you want to watch, the more's the merrier, I say," Pim took up her mother's offer, and Eglantine took me into her fitting room, which was near the back of the room. I assumed that this was all Eglantine's quarters, and the idea of having an entire area of such an ample house was intriguing and elating.  
  
The fitting room was small, or so it must have seemed, because it was the first cluttered room I had seen in the Great Smials. Nothing in particular about it was messy or disorganized, when I looked closely, but the overall effect of it was slipshod. The walls closest to me were lined with long table-fulls of folded and stacked cloth of all materials, colors, and prints, buttons, lace, thread bobbins, needle, and odds and ends. The only break in the tables was for a mirror, which was Hung on the far walls were half-finished and completely finished articles of clothing. Breeches, shirts, blouses, skirts, dresses, aprons, undergarments, and nightclothes lay all hung in a row. In the center of the room, there was a raised pedestal that, to my surprised, turned with a simple push of the foot or hand! The pedestal was directly across the room from the mirror, and standing on it (the pedestal, not the mirror) were two handmaidens, I suppose they were Clover and Lily. One was fussing with the measuring ribbon around her neck, the other was whistling a jig that I had heard several times before.  
  
"Ah, Lily. Could you please take Diamond's measurements, and Clover, get the parchment and quill please. You need to write this down." The girl that had been whistling pulled a small sheet of parchment from her apron pocket, and took the quill from its resting position in the ink jug on the table. The other, Lily, I would assume, whipped the ribbon off of her neck, and instructed me at various points to "stand straight", "stop laughing, this is very serious" and what had to have been my favorite, "pull your arms out". I strongly considered telling Lily that I could not pull my arms out, because that would hurt very badly, but I knew what she meant, and was afraid of invoking the wrath of any of the hobbits in the room other than myself and Pim, whom I suspected this would amuse very much. So I stood there, smiling to myself, as Lily shouted numbers to Clover such as "bust 35" or "skirt 24" and finally, I was free to leave the pedestal. My feet ached from standing still for so long, and I wanted to sit back down with Pippin more than anything, but Eglantine wanted to show me different fabrics and whatnot, so she took me into a back closet. Shelves with skeins upon skeins of wool and flannel (AN- are wool and flannel one and the same?), many more rolls of cotton, for the underclothing, aprons, and summer clothing, I suppose. Several rolls of silk, lace, satin, velvet, and taffeta were present also, and every single roll was on it's own shelf, and was clearly marked, in calligraphic penmanship. I did notice one small shelf, marked Tartan, but there were only two small rolls of the thick, wooly fabric on that shelf. I asked Eglantine about this, and she took me to that shelf.  
  
"Oh dear, only Paladin and Peregrin use that, and only when they must. That is the tartan plaid of the Took house. The Brandybucks have one as well, as did every other respected family in the Shire at one point, I presume. I don't know if the Bagginses still even have their plaids anymore, but the Brandybucks have upheld this tradition even better than us. Peregrin will be wearing his at the wedding." Eglantine paused, and ran her hand over a roll of satin fabric.  
  
"Tell me what you want your wedding dress to be like, Diamond." She said finally. I was taken aback. The question itself wasn't so strange, but the suddenness of her saying it. The question seemingly came from nowhere, and I wasn't prepared for it.  
  
"Ma'am, I cannot do this to you and your family. I cannot have you pay good money to make me dresses and frocks, and keep me under your hill with you. It wouldn't be right, I need to earn my keep."  
  
"Nonsense, dear. By being here, you have earned your keep. Do you know how enraptured Peregrin is with you? He rarely left your bedside when you were ill, and he murmurs your name all the time in his sleep. You would break his heart if you left, don't you love him the same?" I nodded.  
  
"Yes ma'am. I love Pippin more it seems, every day. Oh I know that sounds so childish, so immature. Something you would read about in a grand story where the hero falls in love with the maiden, and she him." I trailed off, feeling stupid. I knew I had started babbling, and was only glad that I had stopped myself. But Eglantine didn't seem to notice.  
  
"Dear, you love him, he loves you. There is nothing wrong with that. I am just so thankful he found you. The sorts of girls in this land are shocking. Wenches of all the wrong sorts, and girls in cahoots with ruffians and scoundrels that still roam this land. I had thought that Paladin, Peregrin and the cousins had run them out of the Shire in the last age, but I suppose not. And many lasses your age find themselves in their hosts. Then there are those that are perfectly innocent, yet simple-minded. The proverb goes 'not all that glitters is gold', and it is true with these girls. Beautiful as elves, they are, but simple as children. I am so happy that he found someone competent and beautiful as well." Eglantine hugged me again, and I felt ashamed for her compliments. I was never one to take compliments well. Never have I thought that I deserved them.  
  
"Ma'am," I whispered quietly. She stepped back, and smiled. (What a capricious lady, I thought) and pointed to the lace shelf.  
  
"Do you want lace on the dress? Should it be silk, satin, or velvet? Do you want pearls, or flowers on it? Do you want flowering sleeves? A low or high neckline?" I realized, that maybe, I could take more liberty on this dress than I thought. I was so accustomed to Mrs Teagrass's take-charge ways of dressmaking, that I had never done something like this before.  
  
After much deliberation, and help from Mother (Eglantine insisted that I stop calling her "ma'am" and call her "Mother". I do not wish to dishonor my mother's memory in any way, but wouldn't Eglantine be as a mother anyway?) I decided on a velvet gown. This velvet, is unlike that of I have ever seen. It is not any one color, but many different colors. When sunlight reaches the dress one way, it is a dark purple. It has also been white, light purple, dark and light blue, and rosy colored. I seem to shimmer when I walk, but the fabric is so warm and comfortable. Mother says it is from the elves, a last gift to Merry and Pippin as they were headed home from Rivendell.  
  
As she told me this, my breath caught in my throat. I had never seen an elf, such fair beings of beauty and light, and now, to be wearing a dress from fabric that they wove themselves? Such an honor! I almost didn't feel worthy to wear such a dress, but the material was so wonderful that I could not refuse it.  
  
The dress neckline was high, because I could not stand revealing dresses like some lasses loved to wear. The neckline, and my hemline, and the hem of my sleeves, were all hemmed in silver lace. I needed no sash, for the dress did not hang loosely. Almost magically, the dress conformed to my body, and pulled itself in at my waist. My sleeves flowered out like they did in my pink dress, only the point where the arm-hugging material stopped and the fabric flourished off was not at my elbow, but my mid lower arm, so it was much more comfortable.  
  
The dress needed no embellishments other than a simple bit of lace, because it was beautiful in itself, and when it was finished (for it was finished quickly) I marveled at the loveliness of it. It seemed ethereal, and I felt like I was no longer in the Shire, but in the Undying Lands with the elves.  
  
I would spend hours on my bed, just lying there in my dress, (letting my lazy side get the better of me) and would imagine what it would have been like to be on the Quest with Pippin and Merry, and to have seen the elves. Every time I wore that dress, I felt so much happier, and as if I were truly an elf. Mother said I was going to ruin my dress, but I never did. No one could ever ruin a dress like that.  
  
I was told that I needed other dresses besides that of my wedding dress. I would need everyday frocks, blouses, skirts, dresses, aprons, and undergarments. Never have I ever had so many clothes as when I lived at the Great Smials. I had three regular dresses, three party dresses, three nightgowns, four skirts, four matching blouses that ran a good deal under the skirt, to my mid-thigh. I had many, many camisoles and petticoats and bodices, three everyday aprons with white lace around the edges, and two dress aprons that had blue lace.  
  
Perhaps I have been conveying the thought to the reader that I grew up in destitution. This is not the case. My parents were fairly wealthy hobbits, owners of The Stepping Stone pub in town, which was an assuredly reputable establishment. We never went without, but my parents never saw the need to have more than one work dress, an apron, a skirt and blouse for special occasions and a camisole that could serve as a nightgown. All of my childhood had I learned modesty, and lack of indulgence. I knew from the start that I could expect a completely new lifestyle from the Tooks, but this grace that they bestowed on me seemed, given what I was used to, was completely unexpected.  
  
Still and all, I was enjoying the experience. 


	11. Nightmares

Disclaimer- I disclaim therefore, I own nothing.  
  
And sorry about taking so long! I originally had four pages written, but I completely started over, with this idea that I liked better.  
  
This one is purely Pippin and Diamond bonding. It's a bunch of wholesome Hobbit love, but nothing over PG, and nothing explicit or overly romantic. (only PG because Pippin has a nightmare, and he remembers some scary stuff.) I have to dedicate this to Orlisgothelf, who has been a wonderful reviewer, and gave me the idea for this chapter. So this one's for you, Orlisgothelf!  
  
SPOILER ALERT!!!! When Diamond starts talking to Pippin, there are some spoilers, so watch out please, if you haven't read Return of the King, or Two Towers (there are book references to things that weren't in the movie) _____________________________________  
  
I was sound asleep in my bedroom, dreaming of flower beds and pristine streams, and of elves, lots of elves. I had such a fascination with elves, and the Fair Folk, and since Pippin regrettably told me that I probably would never meet one (he said most had gone into the West) I satisfied my desire subconsciously, in dreams.  
  
A beautiful maiden clad in glimmering robes of blue and silver had just put a large orchid in my hair, when an ear-splitting scream tore me from my slumber. I recognized the voice, no matter how frightened, to be Pippin's, but what could have possessed him to be so startled I didn't understand. I prayed that Pippin was alright, and that no harm had come to him.  
  
Slipping out of bed, and running silently down the halls of the Great Smials, clad in naught but a woolen nightgown, I found my way to Pippin's room, where he was sitting bolt-upright in bed. His skin looked as pale as the Moon herself, and his eyes were rounder and larger than I had ever seen before. But when he saw me, he grinned weakly, as if trying to convince me that he was okay.  
  
"Oh Diamond, sorry I woke you. Please don't worry about me, I'm fine, thank you. If you want, you can go back to sleep." Seeing that I was still upset, he added "but only if you want to". Instead of taking his offer, I sat down on the edge of his bed.  
  
I had never seen Pippin without the both of us having had what some called "groom-time" and we must have both been a sight. Pippin's curls, which were normally unruly, were absolutely insubordinate, and my hair kept falling in my eyes and face, despite my attempts to tie it back.  
  
"Pippin, what's wrong? You aren't fine, I can tell. I won't go back to sleep until you tell me why you screamed," I folded my arms across my chest stubbornly, "Besides, I am not tired anymore."  
  
Pippin looked at his lap, and back at me. "I haven't told anyone this before, not Mum, not Da, not even Merry or Frodo. Especially not Merry." I started to say something, but he needed no coaxing.  
  
"Diamond, I dreamt that I was back at the Black Gate of Mordor, with Strider, Legolas, Gimli. The only real battle I ever fought in, and I was almost killed. I know there were the skirmishes with orcs in Moria, and I witnessed the battle of the Pelennor Fields, but I was never really in a battle. I dreamt that I was crushed by a giant mountain troll, who suffocated me. All I could hear was Merry calling out "Bilbo's Eagles!" and Frodo was calling my name, but I couldn't see out of the blackness in which I was surrounded. Then I saw Gandalf, who came up to me. He called me a Fool of a Took, and disappeared down a narrow well. That's when I woke up and found myself sitting upright in bed. I suppose I was screaming in my sleep.  
  
"The worst feeling possible, for anyone to have ever felt, was when I thought I killed Gandalf. Gandalf, wise, powerful strong Gandalf. No one could ever kill him, except for the Fool of a Took who couldn't keep his hands off a simple little stone. If I hadn't made so much noise, maybe Gandalf wouldn't have fallen off the bridge." Pippin sighed the sigh of one who was fighting off tears. He put his head in his hands and closed his eyes.  
  
"But Gandalf didn't die," I protested. I couldn't understand why he was so upset.  
  
"So you've heard the story of the Quest?" Pippin asked, peeking through moist eyelids. I grinned.  
  
"There's no one that I know who hasn't heard of Nine-Fingered Frodo and the Ring of Doom. Or of the Fellowship of the Ring, as some choose to call it. Or the War of the Ring, or of the Quest of the Ring. It's all one and the same, isn't it?" Pippin nodded slowly.  
  
"I suppose. When we left Rivendell, I told myself 'Pippin, if anything should ever chance to happen to Merry, Sam, or more importantly Frodo, you need to protect them as best that you can, you hear? You know very well that if anything should happen to Merry especially, that you wouldn't be able to go on.' I stuck by that as much as I could, the whole time.  
  
"When I looked at that palantir, I never reckoned that I would have to leave Merry. I knew I shouldn't have looked, that naught but bad could come out of such an evil thing, but never in my wildest imaginations would I have dreamed that Gandalf would have taken me from Merry. When I saw the look on Merry's face the day afterwards, when Gandalf found me frozen over the palantir, I knew that Merry understood what would happen because of my foolishness." Pippin paused.  
  
"Sometimes, Diamond, I have dreams. About what I saw, looking into the palantir. I dream that the eye of Sauron is looking at me. He asks me where the Ringbearer is, and I tell him I do not know. Then the eye flares out, as if in anger, and he asks again.(AN- I know this is different from the book, but I am taking "literary liberties") I say 'NO! NO!' and I hear Frodo tell me not to say where he and Sam are. The eye knows that I know, and he tells me again. Everything around me is black and desolate, and I find myself standing on the Tower of Mordor. When I don't tell anything, the Eye pushes me back somehow and I fall down towards the ground. I always wake up before I hit the ground, though."  
  
"Pippin, what you went through, Lor (AN- I am not using the Lord's name in vain!) help us, no hobbit should have ever dreamed of. While you were suffering unspeakable torments and seeing things that the eyes of no other hobbit, save Merry, have seen, I was reveling my childhood away, in the meadows and forests of the Shire, with Estel and Ruby." I put my hand to his shoulder, in comfort to a pain he had not expressed in words, but through his eyes.  
  
I looked out of the round window in Pippin's bedroom, to see light cascade in through the glass.  
  
"Either we talked for much longer than I remember, or you woke me up much later than I remember," I said, smiling. Pippin, however, couldn't.  
  
"Diamond, you don't think less of me now, do you?" Pippin looked almost scared, and I wondered where he could have gotten such an idea.  
  
"No Pippin, of course not. I think the world of you, for having been such an important part of the Quest. Now, before you try and disclaim what I have said, I want you to hear me good, Mr Took. You cared nothing for yourself, but you cared the world for Merry, and Gandalf, I would presume. (Oh how I wish he hadn't gone into the West!) You, Peregrin Took, have the biggest heart of anyone I know."  
  
"Oh Diamond, you don't know how relieved I am to hear you say that!" Pippin threw his arms around me, in rather bad timing, because at that precise moment, Pim decided to open the door. I heard a suggestive cough, and I turned out of Pippin's embrace to face a smiling Pim.  
  
"If you want me to leave you two by yourselves for a moment, that is good and well. Mama just wanted me to tell you that first breakfast is ready, and that she expects you in the main eating-parlor at precisely eight o' clock," Pim giggled happily and skipped out of the room.  
  
I leapt off of the bed, and grinned at Pippin.  
  
"I'll race you to the parlor!" Pippin scrambled over to his chest-of- drawers (AN-Isn't that what a dresser is called?) and was already pulling on his day clothes as I bolted down the hall into my room, and tried to get dressed as fast as possible. I pulled on my camisole, underskirts, and then my white blouse, which reached my mid-thigh. I tied my yellow skirt on around my waist, which reached my shins, at the same time that I tied my apron on. I was still brushing my hair as I ran into the parlor, and found Pippin waiting for me.  
  
"Glad you could show up, Diamond." Pippin grinned, and I rolled my eyes. He was still in his nightclothes, and his hair wasn't even brushed.  
  
Sometimes, I didn't know what I was going to do with that boy. 


	12. In Which Diamond Recieves a Letter and a...

Disclaimer- I own nothing, and wish I to own nothing. Well, the first half of that's true at least...  
  
AAAAAHHH!!! Natta has brought something very important to mind. If Estella loved Oliver so much, why did nod so eagerly when Merry proposed? It will be described here in this chapter, in a letter from Estella. Thanks for bringing that up, Natta. ___________________________________________________  
  
I took my seat next to Pippin and Vinca. There was already a platter in front of me, with thick toast dripping of butter, a slab of cheese, and a mug of milk. I took a sip of milk, and had just lifted the bread to my mouth when the Thain addressed me.  
  
"Diamond, there is a letter here, for you. From Ruby of Long Cleeve and Estella Bolger. I thought you might want to read it," he reached over the table and handed me a folded stack of parchment. I put my toast down immediately, overjoyed to have had a letter from my sister and friend.  
  
To our Dearest Diamond,  
  
We write this letter from Long Cleeve, where we both are still residing. You might have been so lucky in your circumstances to have been moved to the Great Smials so soon, but as for me (Estella) Brandy Hall is not yet ready for a new occupant, so here I wait, with Ruby. We both miss you terribly, Diamond. We both want to say so much to you so we shall take turns with the quill and ink.  
  
I (Ruby) just want to tell you good luck in your marriage, Diamond. I have requested to the Thain to allow me to come and stay with you until the wedding (after which I will promptly remove myself from the residence- I know when I have overstayed my welcome), and he has generously agreed. At this, I looked up at the Thain, who smiled and nodded. I grinned back.. He had obviously read the letter first, not that I minded.  
  
This is Estella again. I know you are probably wondering what Oliver said when I told him what happened. I suppose it isn't so much of a "said" as a "did". I think that Oliver's jaw was about to hit the floor, he almost cried, he did do a lot of shouting and waving of hands. Oliver was always very passionate, just not for me. I suppose I have Merry to thank for that. Now Diamond, don't go chiding me just yet. I know what you would say. "Why throw away a relationship you have nurtured for years for a lad that you barely know?"  
  
Well, Diamond, all I have to say is that Merry treats me so much nicer than Oliver did. I know Oliver was nice to me, and brought me fresh flowers to plant in my garden, but he really did care only for himself. Always eating at my home, trying to have a free pint from Papa (Mr Bolger owned The Snapdragon tavern)or trying to get me to do Valar-knows-what. You know what they say, Diamond. You never miss something until it's gone. This is exactly opposite though. I only courted Oliver because I did not know something better was out there.  
  
Ah, enough of her rambling on about past lovers (This is Ruby again, Diamond.) Oh yes, Estella says she resents that sentiment. Anyway, how are you dear sister? They treat you well I hope? Is the food good there? I nodded twice, still grinning to myself. I hope both are true, and cannot wait to see you. Estella says she cannot wait to see you either.  
  
Diamond, you might want to suggest telling your sister (it's me, Estella again) to be more polite. I can write for myself, thank you, Ruby. I suppose I shall come with Ruby as well, although I am certainly glad the Great Smials is not as far as Brandy Hall, because if I had to spend more than a day's travel on the road with Ruby, I swear by the Valinor, we would show up lacking a hobbit. Oh, haha Ruby. She says that the hobbit lacking would be me. Isn't your sister just a wit, Diamond?  
  
Estella is going to use up all of my good ink, Diamond, so I am going to have to cut this letter short. But if Estella wanted to contribute a jug or two of ink to the cause, then we could write a saga between the two of us. (Why does Estella think that is so funny?) So we can cut this short, I need to highlight the fact that the wedding will be at the Great Smials. You can expect us in a week the most, Diamond, and the Brandybucks shall be here maybe in two weeks or so. Don't expect the wedding to take place too soon, dear Diamond. Even I can tell you that there are many arrangements to be made, but look forward to wedding at the same time as your dear friend. (Whom, might I add, may not even make it to the Great Smials alive.)  
  
Much love from both of us, Ruby and Estella  
  
Upon finishing the letter, I burst out in a fit of laughter, and didn't stop laughing until I couldn't breathe. I looked up, and Pippin was staring at me like I had a third eye growing out of my head, so I just shook my head and handed him the letter. The Thain smiled as Pippin finished as well.  
  
"I cannot wait to meet your sister, Diamond. She sounds like such a wonderful young hobbit," the Thain smiled, and nodded his head approvingly.  
  
"When is the wedding, Da?" Pippin asked quietly, after a elongated, but not awkward, period of silence. I had already finished my breakfast, and was now waiting politely to be excused to the day's activities, whatever they may have been, and was sipping my remaining milk.  
  
"Two weeks from whenever Meriadoc's family arrives. That is all I know as of now, Peregrin. There is much to be done in preparation for such a thing. First and foremost, we must reserve a day to go to the Well in Long Cleeve. Folk there say it's been blessed by the elves, and I think that there isn't a better spot in the Shire to have a wedding than in a blessed place." I nearly choked on the mouthful of milk I had just taken, and it was all I could do to keep from spitting milk everywhere. I shot Pippin a look of pure guilt (although, honestly, I had nothing to be guilty of) and cast my eyes to my lap.  
  
"Sir, may I ask you a favor?" I looked up to the Thain, who nodded.  
  
"May I have an excursion, to maybe go back to my home, just for a day? I wouldn't want to place any burden on my sister for packing my things, and I would like to see my hole one more time." I was lying through my teeth. I had no things to pack (except for my lute) and I had no desire to see my home again. I really needed to go to the Well, and try and revoke this vow definitively.  
  
"I could go as an escort, Da, if we have your approval," Pippin asked politely. I sighed inwardly as the Thain nodded.  
  
"I suppose that a one day excursion, with the proper chaperone, would be fine. Pearl, would you assume that role?" Pearl looked up from the book that she had been reading, and glowered at Pippin and me quickly, before turning to the Thain.  
  
"Of course, Papa. We can set out as soon as you and Diamond would like, Pippin." She smiled wryly, and went back to her book.  
  
"Do you three want to go pack? I can have a carriage ready for you by elevenses. You need to depart and return early, so that you are back before any of the guests arrive." I thanked the Thain profusely, and bowed before I left the parlor.  
  
As I walked down the hall, I hummed to myself a tune that Ruby had taught me. It was slow, and drawn out, and took skill on the fiddle, lute, drums, or voice to be able to perform, because one had to hold a note for so long. I wasn't a good singer, and I normally played it on my lute (on which I was skilled) but I tried to sing as much of it as I could.  
  
By a bank as I lay,  
  
Myself alone did muse, Hey ho!  
  
A bird's sweet voice did me rejoice  
  
She sang before the day  
  
Methought full well I wot her lay,  
  
She said the Winter's past, Hey ho!  
  
Down, derry down  
  
Down derry, down derry  
  
Down, derry down, derry down,  
  
Derry down, down! ____________________________  
  
For those fond of English folk tunes, they might recognize that song as being the first stanza to By a Bank as I Lay. It really isn't as slow as I made it sound, but it is fairly leisurely. 


	13. Short, short update and apologies

QUICK NOTE!!!!!!  
  
I am really sorry that I haven't written anything in so long. My computer had to be completely redone, and all my stories in progress were wiped out. So I am rewriting this next chapter, and it will still be a while, but I didn't want anyone to think I had forgotten about it. Keep posted! 


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